ATTACHMENT A - 2023-2025 SW Triennial Review PowerPoint Presentation

2023-2025 Surface Water Triennial Review Amendments to Select Rules
in 15A NCAC 02B .0200 & Water Quality Standards Background
Water Quality Committee
March 13, 2024
Christopher Ventaloro, NCDEQ Classifications & Standards Branch
What Are Surface Water Quality Standards
Provisions of State and Federal laws that serve to
protect surface waters as required by the Clean
Water Act (CWA)
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Standards…
o Describe the goals of surface waters by defining designated uses
and the criteria to protect those uses (40 CFR 131)
o Provide regulatory basis for water quality-based effluent limits
o Provide targets for CWA restoration activities (TMDLs) when WQS
are not attained
Legal Basis for Water Quality Standards
Per the CWA & EPA Regulations (40 CFR),
❖States must adopt, review & update WQS on a
triennial basis (CWA 101 & 303; 40 CFR 131)
❖EPA reviews state standards and approves or
disapproves & promulgates as necessary (CWA 303)
❖Standards must be based on sound scientific
rationale (40 CFR 131) → not to be modified for
economic impacts or technical feasibility*
*Economic & technical considerations can be addressed
during implementation of WQS
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33 USC § 1251 et seq
40 CFR
Components of Water Quality Standards
Core Requirements (CWA 101 & 303)
1.Designated uses of a water body
(recreation, fish consumption, etc.)
2.Water quality criteria necessary to
protect the designated uses (numeric
and narrative)
3.Antidegradation requirements
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Water Quality
Standards
Antideg
Criteria
Uses
General policies for application & implementation (40 CFR 131)
Variances, mixing zones, compliance schedules, etc.
Designated Uses
Goals, objectives and desired conditions for how each water body
is used whether or not the use is currently attained
Designated uses are described in water body classifications and
may include:
➢Protection and propagation of fish, shellfish and wildlife
➢Recreation in & on the water
➢Public drinking water supply
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Criteria
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Criteria may be numeric or narrative and must meet the
following requirements (both used for regulatory purposes):
Triennial Review
Rulemaking process to adopt standards into NC rule
States are obligated* to review WQS and must:
o Hold a public hearing at least every 3-years
o Provide scientific justification for changes to WQS
o Document reasons for not adopting 304(a) criteria
o Submit WQS for review within 30-days of final State
action
* 40 CFR 131.20
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Surface Water Standard Rulemaking Process
Development
•Staff review current standards, available EPA guidance & literature
and develop rulemaking package
•Staff present proposed amendments to Environmental
Management Commission (WQC/EMC) for approval to proceed
State
Approval
•EMC adoption
•RRC approval
•NC Attorney General sign off
Federal
Approval
•EPA Clean Water Act review
•Endangered Species Act consultation
•NC notified of approval/disapproval
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Questions?
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Action Item Request
Approval to proceed to the EMC with request for public notice
and hearings for the proposed 2023-2025 Surface Water
Triennial Review amendments to the following rules as shown in
Attachment B:
15A NCAC 02B .0208, .0212, .0214, .0215, .0216, .0218, .0219,
and .0226
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2023-2025 Triennial – Focus Topics
•Updated human health exposure factors (EFs)
•Updated human health criteria
•E. coli criteria for Class B (primary recreation) waters
•Update variance language (per EPA)
•Technical corrections
•1,4-Dioxane
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Updated Human Health Exposure Factors
•Exposure factors are part of the narrative standard for toxic
substances in 02B .0208
•Used to calculate fish consumption & water supply standards for
substances that do not have existing 02B numeric standards
•Example calculation from 02B .0208:
***Exposure factors highlighted in red***
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WQS = Water Quality Standard
RfD = Reference Dose
RSC = Relative Source Contribution
BW = Body Weight
WCR = Water Consumption Rate
FCR = Fish Consumption Rate
BCF = Bioconcentration Factor
𝑊𝑄𝑄=𝑄𝑓𝐵× 𝑄𝑄𝐵× 𝐵𝑊
𝑊𝐵𝑄+(𝐹𝐵𝑄 𝑥 𝐵𝐵𝐹)
Updated Human Health Exposure Factors
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Exposure Factor Current 02B Value1 2015 EPA Value2
Body Weight (kg)70 80
Drinking Water Intake Rate
(L/day)3 2.0 2.4
Fish Consumption Rate (g/day)17.5 22.0
Footnotes:
1.Established in 02B .0208 in 1989 (Eff. 10/01/89); Fish consumption updated in 2007 (Eff.
05/01/07)
2.Based on exposure of adults aged 21 and older (data from CDC national health surveys)
3.15A NCAC 02B .0208 refers to this as the “Water Consumption Rate”
Updated Human Health Exposure Factors
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Exposure Factor 2015 EPA Value
Body Weight (kg)80
Drinking Water Intake Rate (L/day)2.4
Fish Consumption Rate (g/day)22.0
Proposed Amendment: Update the exposure factors in 15A NCAC 02B .0208
to the 2015 EPA exposure factor values shown below.
Updated Human Health Criteria
•2015 – EPA published updated human health NRWQC* for 94
chemicals
•Human health refers to:
•Consumption of fish tissue
•Protections for water supplies
•Updates incorporated:
•Updated toxicity factors (Reference Doses & Cancer values)
•Inclusion/updating of Relative Source Contributions (RSCs)
•Updated toxicity exposure factors
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* National Recommended Water Quality Criteria
Updated Human Health Criteria
•Focus on 14 updated EPA chemical criteria that
correspond to:
o 26 02B standards
➢12 fish consumption (02B .0208)
➢14 water supply (Class WS)
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17
Chemical
Current Fish
Consumption
Standard (ug/L)
Current Water
Supply Standard
(ug/L)
Proposed Fish
Consumption
Standard (ug/L)
Proposed Water
Supply Standard
(ug/L)
Rules Affected
1,1,2,2-Tetrachloroethane 4 0.17 3 0.2 .0208, .0212-.0218
2,4-D N/A 70 N/A 1,300 .0212-.0218
Aldrin 0.00005 0.00005 0.00000077 0.00000077 .0208, .0212-.0218
Benzene 51 1.19 25 0.9 .0208, .0212-.0218
Carbon Tetrachloride 1.6 0.254 5 0.4 .0208, .0212-.0218
Chlordane 0.0008 0.0008 0.00032 0.00031 .0208, .0212-.0218
DDT 0.0002 0.0002 0.000030 0.000030 .0208, .0212-.0218
Dieldrin 0.00005 0.00005 0.0000012 0.0000012 .0208, .0212-.0218
Heptachlor 0.00008 0.00008 0.0000059 0.0000059 .0208, .0212-.0218
Hexachlorobutadiene 18 0.44 0.01 0.01 .0208, .0212-.0218
Silvex (2,4-TP)N/A 10 N/A 100 .0212-.0218
Tetrachloroethylene 3.3 0.7 29 10 .0208, .0212-.0218
Trichloroethylene (TCE)30 2.5 7 0.6 .0208, .0212-.0218
Vinyl Chloride 2.4 0.025 1.6 0.022 .0208, .0212-.0218
= Proposed standard is higher = Proposed standard is lower
Updated Human Health Criteria
Proposed Amendment: Update the 26 human health standards in the
15A NCAC 02B .0208, .0212, .0214, .0215, .0216, and .0218 rules to
2015 EPA values shown in slide #17 with the remainder of EPA’s 2015
updated human health criteria to be addressed in the 2026-2028
triennial review.
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E. Coli Criteria for Class B (Primary Recreation) Waters
•Current standard is for fecal coliform bacterial indicator
•2012- EPA published updated bacterial indicator criteria for primary1
recreation waters (E. Coli or Enterococcus)
•Recommends either of two illness rates with associated 30-day
geometric means and Statistical Threshold Values (STV)
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Illnesses2
(per 1,000 primary
contact recreators)
GeoMean
(per 100 ml)
10% Exceedance
STV
(per 100 ml)
20% Exceedance
STV
(per 100 ml)
36 (Option #1)126 CFU 410 CFU 274 CFU
32 (Option #2)100 CFU 326 CFU 217 CFU
1 In NC, primary recreation freshwaters are classified as Class B [15A NCAC 02B .0219(1)]
2 EPA considers both illness rates as being protective of the primary recreation use
NC Proposed E. coli Standard
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Proposed Amendment: Update the bacterial indicator standard for Class B
(primary recreation) waters in the 15A NCAC 02B .0219 rule to use E. coli as the
bacterial indicator per EPA’s 2012 Recreational Water Quality Criteria. DWR
recommends amending 15A NCAC 02B .0219(3)(b) as follows:
(3)(b) Escherichia coli shall not exceed a geometric mean of 126*/100 ml (colony
forming units or most probable number) based on at least five samples taken over
a 30-day period. Escherichia coli also shall not exceed 274*/100 ml (colony forming
units or most probable number) in more than 20 percent of the samples examined
during such period.
*Corresponds to Option #1
Update Language for Variances
•02B .0226 – Exemptions From Surface Water Quality Standards
•EPA requested states update rule language to either:
i.Reference 40 CFR §131.14 or
ii.Provide language specifying the requirements for variances
per §131.14
Proposed amendment: Clarify the requirements for variances in 15A
NCAC 02B .0226 by including a reference to 40 CFR §131.14 as requested
by EPA.
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Technical Corrections
15A NCAC 02B .0208
❖Changes made to update references & provide clarity
15A NCAC 02B .0215 & .0216
❖Reinstate 2022 EMC approved technical corrections to .0215(2)(f) &
.0216(2)(f). These rules were objected to by the RRC in 2022, but the
technical corrections were unrelated to the RRC objection.
Technical corrections for these rules can be viewed in Attachment B
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1,4-Dioxane
•EMC adopted fish consumption & water supply standards derived from the 02B
.0208 rule on March 10, 2022
•RRC Objected on May 19, 2022
•Values will be updated using the exposure factors proposed in this triennial review
and consistent with current EPA guidance (See Attachment F)
Proposed Amendment:Update the fish consumption & water supply standards for
1,4-Dioxane to the values shown below & codify in the in 15A NCAC 02B .0208,
.0212, .0214, .0215, .0216, and .0218 .
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Chemical
Current Fish
Consumption ISTV
(ug/L)
Current Water
Supply ISTV
(ug/L)
Proposed Fish
Consumption
Standard (ug/L)
Proposed Water
Supply Standard
(ug/L)
1,4-Dioxane 80 0.35 40 0.33
Rulemaking Timeline
WQC Info Item
July 2023, November
2023, January 2024
WQC Approval to
Proceed
March 2024
EMC Approval to
Notice
May 2024
File for NC Register
Publication
May 24, 2024
Notice of Text / Public
Comment period begins
June 17, 2024
Public Hearing1
August 1,
2024 (earliest)
End of Public Comment
period2
August 16, 2024
EMC Adoption
January 2025
Per federal Clean Water Act:
1 At least 45-days from Public Notice
Per NC Administrative Procedures Act:
2 At least 60-days from Public Notice
Action Item Request
Approval to proceed to the EMC with request for public notice
and hearings for the proposed 2023-2025 Surface Water
Triennial Review amendments to the following rules as shown in
Attachment B:
15A NCAC 02B .0208, .0212, .0214, .0215, .0216, .0218, .0219,
and .0226
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Surface Water Quality Standards Contacts
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Elizabeth Kountis
Water Quality Standards
Coordinator
Phone: [phone]
[e-mail]
DWR Classifications, Standards & Rules Review website:
https://deq.nc.gov/about/divisions/water-resources/planning/classification-standards
Susan Meadows
Water Quality Standards
Assistance
Phone: [phone]
[e-mail]
Paul Wojoski
Classifications & Standards Branch
Supervisor
Phone: [phone]
[e-mail]
Christopher Ventaloro
Water Quality Standards
Coordinator
Phone: [phone]
[e-mail] Sapana Bastola
Economist
Phone: [phone]
[e-mail]